Erica of BYOK: Talking Intermittent Fasting

With the plethora of health information out there, I wanted to start bringing some BA inspirational women on the blog to teach you all a little more about certain topics. Most of the topics will be those that I have yet to partake in so I figured why not just bring in an expert:)

I met Erica of Bring Your Own Kombucha through Instagram and couldn’t be more excited to have her on the blog to talk all things Intermittent Fasting. She is such a gorgeous girl with one of the biggest hearts!! Every single time I have a question, she is happy to help and incredibly kind about it.

Also, I recently found out that blogging is just her side job and she works full-time as an attorney. I mean, WHAT A TOTAL BA BOSSBABE. She really is the total package and I have no doubt that everyone in her circle would say the same thing.

But enough of my rambling, let’s get this party started♥

Hi Erica! I am so happy to have you on the blog. Let’s start by having you tell us a little more about yourself:)

My name is Erica Biesiada and I started blogging last May in anticipation of my 30th birthday. I was making a lot of healthy shifts in my diet, switching over to nontoxic beauty and household products, and as a result my friends were asking me so many questions about these changes. That’s why I decided to put my journalism degree to good use and start a blog.

The premise of Bring Your Own Kombucha is to grab a kombucha and read all about my healthy shifts. This is from a non-professional perspective. I’m not a holistic doctor or nutritionist or dietician. Just an average, 30 year old woman, trying to live a healthy and balanced life.

I love blogging but it is only my side hustle at the moment. I work as an attorney full time. 🙂

You seriously are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to so many topics but, today, let’s talk Intermittent Fasting! What exactly is Intermittent Fasting and how did you get into it?

I became super interested in Intermittent Fasting after hearing about it on a podcast. Afterwards I did a TON of research, like I normally do. I then connected with Amanda, nutritionist and creator of Eat Pur, who was a wealth of information on the subject. I interviewed her and her husband on my blog.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is when you eat during a certain window of time in a day and you fast the remaining hours in the day. Usually you can eat anywhere between a 6-10 hour period and fast for 14-18 hours. For example, a common IF eating pattern is when you eat anywhere from 11am to 7pm (8 hour eating window) and fast from 7pm to 11am the next day (16 hours fasting). The actual time of the day doesn’t matter as long as you are hitting those fasting periods.

It is important to note, you should still be eating the same amount of calories you would in a normal non-IF day. You will just be eating within that allotted time frame.

What are the benefits of Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent Fasting has SO MANY benefits. For starters, when you fast, your body naturally cleanses and detoxifies itself. Your body breaks down the abnormal unwanted cells while simultaneously stabilizes your blood sugar, insulin levels, reduces inflammation, and puts your body in a fat burning mode. Since your body is in a fat burning mode, it can aid in weight loss. This was taught to me by Dr. Emil Tocci, Amanda’s husband.

It is also well known to target the belly fat which is something I definitely struggle with and I definitely see results when I practice intermittent fasting a few days a week. It also provides mental clarity surprisingly and you feel MORE energized. I never would of anticipated the energy aspect but you truly feel GOOD when you practice IF.

That is AMAZING! I had no clue that it was so beneficial to us! Is this something you can do every so often or does it need to be practiced on a daily basis?

This is DEFINITELY a personal preference. You can definitely do this as often or as little as you want. Personally I practice it 2-3 days a week. My friend Amanda practices it 4-5 days a week. A lot of celebrities, such as Beyonce, Kourtney Kardashian, Miranda Kerr, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Hugh Jackman, and many more, practice it on a regular basis. I think it is also common to practice it 5 days a week and take the weekends off.

Personally, I like to set realistic goals. My schedule is WAY too hectic so for me 2-3 days of IF works.

You know I’m all about realistic and attainable goals so that sounds great:) How did you feel the first time you completed an IF challenge?

SO GOOD. LIKE AMAZING. Everyone who participated in Amanda and I’s IF challenge had nothing but POSITIVE feedback. I think the best part of the IF challenge was that a lot of people expressed how DOABLE it was. It sounds REALLY DAUNTING. But if you plan out your schedule and your prepared with food, water, keeping yourself busy, you can definitely complete the challenge.

Any advice for those of us that are interested in giving it a go for the first time?

YES!

Drink half your body weight in water every day during the challenge. It is IMPERATIVE you stay hydrated and flush out the toxins.

You can also drink black coffee (with a tiny bit of mct oil and/or ghee) as a substitute for breakfast to curb your hunger. This is the ONLY thing you can have during your FASTING window (noneating period). It will not break your fast and will keep you energized and focused.

Please note though, a lot of people ask, hey can I substitute the coffee for tea or add milk to my coffee. You can swap out herbal tea but that’s really the only swap out you can make. Your body is in a fasting state and if you consume too many calories then you will break the fast. And you don’t want to work so hard to not eat for that time period and break the fast too early.

During your eating period, eating healthy foods full of healthy fats, clean protein, veggies, etc. Eat the same amount of calories you would on a non IF day.

Plan your fasting time around your sleep schedule. I sleep for 8 hours of my fast which makes it easy for me to complete.

If you exercise normally, you can definitely exercise on IF but listen to your body. Don’t try anything new or attempt hot yoga.

There is also an app called ZERO that helps you track your intermittent fasting. That can be very helpful for newbies!

I was totally going to ask about being able to have coffee during your fasting window! I think that is the only thing that will stop my tummy from grumbling at work lol! Also, that app sounds amazing. I’ll have to download it to help me out!

I know that you and Amanda have another IF challenge coming up. When does it start and how can we sign up?!

January 16-19th will be the date of our next challenge. You can sign up by emailing me at byokblog@gmail.com. We will guide you every step of the way. You receive daily tips, tricks, support in our facebook group, and recipes.

Our first challenge was 3 days and our second challenge was 5 days long. This challenge will be 3 days long AND we are adding in an extra component. For those who wish to join us, we will be doing a keto diet meal plan in conjunction with IF fasting. I will be posting more details very soon!

Ohh, the Keto Diet! I’ve alway been a little curious about that so I am excited to see what your meal plan entails:) Are there any other fun challenges you’re participating in or challenges you’ll be creating in the near future? Or any new and exciting news for us?!

Just the IF challenge coming up! But I also just released the January BYOK box on 01/10/17 and I will have a big announcement coming mid-January! Lots of exciting things around the corner for BYOK!

I cannot wait to hear Erica’s announcement! And I am so excited about the BYOK box! I missed the last one but made sure to grab the Jan box early this time. It is filled with a ton of fun items that Erica has tried and loves! She also puts this together out of the kindness of her heart and makes no money off of it. I love a girl that shares tips and amazing things with the rest of us! She really is that amazing!

Follow Erica at all of the links below and subscribe to her blog. It is SOO worth it!